Mariano Rivera

The Yankees finish in Houston. And, as has happened in every other city Mariano Rivera has bid farewell, he will get a sendoff there too. And an old friend will be part of that: Rivera’s final goodbye ceremony will come in Houston, where the Yankees will play their last game of the regular season against…

The Yankees were giving away Mariano Rivera bobbleheads to the first 18,000 fans through the gates at Yankee Stadium last night. Only problem: they didn’t have the bobbleheads. The truck delivering them broke down in New Jersey. The Yankees held the gates closed late but, when it became obvious that the bobbleheads weren’t going to…

A fantastic point here made by Tom Tango, and I have to admit that it has made me (for the nine millionth time) rethink the Baseball Hall of Fame. As you might have heard, Fangraphs asked a bunch of writers to name the three best eligible players not in the Hall of Fame. They asked the writers…

Andy Pettitte has retired and then unretired before, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told Andy McCullough of the Newark Star Ledger that he won’t try to change the 41-year-old left-hander’s mind because “I know that I won’t be able to convince him like I’ve done in the past.” On the other hand, manager Joe…

It’s Mariano Rivera Day at Yankee Stadium and the pregame tribute to the retiring Hall of Fame-bound closer could not have been cooler. Where to start? Rivera got a big batch of gifts from the Yankees and the visiting San Francisco Giants, including another rocking chair made of bats, a crystal replica of his glove, a…

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez put his team up 5-1 with a seventh-inning grand slam against Giants reliever George Kontos. The slam was Rodriguez’s 24th of his career, overtaking Yankees great Lou Gehrig’s Major League record. David Robertson and Mariano Rivera teamed up to keep the Giants off the board in the eighth and ninth…

UPDATE: Pettitte has now made it official, issuing a statement saying: “I’m announcing my retirement prior to the conclusion of our season because I want all of our fans to know now while I’m still wearing this uniform how grateful I am for their support throughout my career. I want to have the opportunity to…

River Avenue runs outside Yankee Stadium. Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post picks up the ball from some creative fans and launches a campaign to add an “a” at the end and change the name to “Rivera Ave.” as a means of honoring the retiring Yankees closer: This is an idea too good to…

As the Nationals’ cling to their playoff lives with a dramatic late-season run an unheralded 26-year-old rookie is piling up victories. Tanner Roark, a former 25th-round pick acquired from the Rangers for Cristian Guzman in mid-2010 who didn’t make his big-league debut until last month, tossed seven shutout innings against the Braves last night to…

Alex Rodriguez on Mariano Rivera, after calling him not just one of the best pitchers ever, but one of the best athletes of all time in any sport: . . . the biggest compliment or the biggest way I can share with all our fans and specially Mariano Rivera fans is that when the moment…

Were the Red Sox classy enough to Mariano Rivera? Is the fat lady singing in the AL West? Will the Pirates pitchers be up to the task come October? Those things and more on today’s HBT Daily. Well, mostly those things actually. Not much more. Whatever.

Last night Mariano Rivera played his last game at Fenway Park. While the game itself wasn’t very memorable, the message he left in the visitor’s bullpen during the ninth inning was: Picture of Mariano’s message in bullpen at Fenway / Foto del mensaje dejado por Mariano en bullpen en Fenway pic.twitter.com/1fQE3O5doe — Marly~ESPN Deportes (@MarlyRiveraESPN)…

Mariano Rivera was honored Sunday prior to his last ever regular-season appearance at Fenway Park. The Red Sox made sure that was the only time he’d see the mound all weekend. The Red Sox shook off a first-inning Yankees run with three of their own and routed the Bombers 9-2 for a three-game sweep in…

In his farewell tour this season, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has received many accolades. From scoreboard memos to hugs to, uh, sand sculptures, people haven’t been shy about telling Rivera how much his career has meant to the game. The Red Sox, often victimized by Rivera’s cutter over the years, played Rivera out in style…

Joe Girardi is getting a ton of praise for keeping the Yankees in the playoff picture despite an incredible number of injuries wrecking the roster all season, which is interesting timing with the manager’s contract up after the season. Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com broaches the topic of whether Girardi would ever leave the Yankees as…

This pretty much tells you that both reliever wins and the save statistic are, to say the least, flawed: Mariano Rivera came into the ninth inning with a one-run lead, closed the game out and … didn’t get the save. Why? Because in this case it was a judgment call by the official scorer pursuant…

The four-game series against the Red Sox has been a nightmare for the Yankees, but it has mercifully ended on a good note for the Bronx Bombers. With his team leading 3-2 in the ninth inning, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera surrendered a lead-off game-tying solo home run to Will Middlebrooks, his seventh save of the…

Last night, Mariano Rivera surrendered a game-tying RBI single to Stephen Drew with two outs in the ninth. Joba Chamberlain then allowed what became a game-winning RBI single to Shane Victorino in the tenth. Tonight, it seemed like a real team effort as four Yankees relievers combined to allow nine runs in the eighth and…

For years, we have been inundated with the sentiment that there is nothing tougher, nothing that requires more focus and mental fortitude than being a Major League closer. Former Athletics closer Dennis Eckersley, who authored two of the best relief seasons of all time in 1990 (0.61 ERA. 48 saves) and ’92 (won the AL…

Orioles 3, White Sox 1: The Orioles win and, frankly, I’m going to credit playing at home. Yep, nothing like a home game. Makes all the difference. And if you think for a minute I’m irrationally beating this into the ground, go take a gander at the NFL Industrial Complex’s collective and concerted moaning and…

Call it “Deja Drew.” After the Red Sox let a five-run lead slip away, things were going all according to plan for the Yankees on Thursday. David Robertson pitched a perfect eighth up 8-7, and Mariano Rivera retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth. That’s when things unraveled. Mike Napoli, who was…

I’ve written a few times that it just doesn’t seem fair to the baseball-loving public for Mariano Rivera to retire when he’s still so clearly an amazing pitcher, if only because I want to find out exactly how long he can continue posting a sub-3.00 ERA. 45? 50? Anyway, apparently Yankees manager Joe Girardi agrees,…

It’s cool and crisp here in America’s Heartland and there were some games last night that felt like the playoffs. Can we please just skip September and move straight on into October? Would anyone object to this? Red Sox 2, Tigers 1: An ALCS preview? Jon Lester outduels Max Scherzer in a tight game with…

It just got a little more difficult to manufacture a save record not held by Mariano Rivera. The 43-year-old picked up his 40th save Tuesday against the White Sox, reaching that plateau for the ninth time in his illustrious career. That ties Trevor Hoffman for the most of all-time. No one else has more than…

All the teams are giving Mariano Rivera parting gifts when he makes his last appearance at their ballpark. The Rays are no exception. Except this may be the weirdest and creepiest gift yet: #Rays tribute to #Yankees Mariano, a sand sculpture pic.twitter.com/Q5QWSqLWLj — Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) August 23, 2013 And, you know, the thing about…